The Subtle Mind
This Exercise~ the subtle mind practice made me more aware of myself and my breathing, it was very relaxing for the most part, but as I got further into it, I started to lose concentration and started getting figity. The subtle mind practice focuses on awareness of self through breathing opposed to the loving kindness practice that focused more on the healing and well - being of others. There is a direct connection with breathing and ones mind. As your breathing is, so shall your mind be. The benefits of the subtle mind practice helps with awareness of oneself. The frustration is trying to quiet the mind and keep it quiet.
The mind, body and spirit are connected. We reach overall wellness when we train and exercise all components of our selves. When you exercise the body the mind benefits as well. Our spiritual body is our essence, a peacefulness within. Spiritual wellness can keep us from physical illness and bring us to an all encompassing higher level of consciousness.
Yours In Health,
Cyndie
Hi Cyndie,
ReplyDeleteWhen I first began meditation I too went through the figidness you described. This is the point when you must retrain your thoughts and move back to your focal thought. It takes time, but like anything we do practice makes perfect! I hope you continue striving toward human flourishing and unity consciousness long after this class is over. It really does change your life in many beneficial ways! For one thing little petty things become very unimportant in your life, which is an area I struggled with and still do at times.
To your health and wellness!
-Angie Giannavola
Hi Cyndie,
ReplyDeleteI always enjoy reading your blog. I felt the same way with the subtle mind exercise. It was easier towards the beginning and as time went on I became restless (figity)and my mind started to wander. The breathing really helped. While at a fitness conference this weekend one of the instructors (you may know the name - Lawrence Biscontini) has been leading mind-body-spirit classes (e.g., yoga, pilates, tai chi, etc.) for years. He said he started changing the wording when working with health clubs to "brain, body, breath" because the word spirit was scary for many people. As fitness professionals, I think we can help lessen the fear many people have towards achieving a calm, peaceful spirit by incorporating exercises into client workouts.
Have a great week!
Cynthia
Hi Cyndie!
ReplyDeleteInteresting that you felt more fidgety with the subtle mind. I must say that there were times that my mind did wander. I thought it had more to do with the lapse in between instructions. It was during those times I had to REALLY focus on the breathing. For me the Loving Kindness exercise was more difficult for me because it expected a lot more out of our minds in order to accomplish the task. My mind wandered quite a bit more with the Loving Kindness exercise...trying to concentrate on loving images without emotion I definitely need more work on! I completely believe that we get what we give...so I try to throw out positive energy into the world and so far I'm getting a lot of positive energy back!
But yeah, it's difficult to calm that mind of mine :-)
Enjoy your week!
T.